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Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Amateur Radio Special Events: May 2014

QSL from St Brandon DXpedition

This is sampling of Special Expeditions and Events on amateur radio. Events are open to amateur radio operators, and shortwave listeners. QSLing may include special event cards, certificates or both. QSLing information or requirements are as indicated in the postings.

May
S0, Western Sahara (Update). Naama, S01A, has delayed his activity until early May because he did not receive the new equipment and antennas in time. Operators S01A, S01WS (club station "Amateur Radio Union Sahrawi") and S01AH are expected to receive their equipment at the end of April. Having overcome the technical and installation of multiple antennas problems, the maximum expected operating bands will be on 80-6 meters. They will be using three bazooka antennas, one for 60 meters. Naama apologizes for the short activity on March 9. An equipment failure prevented him from continuing his activity. It is important to note that this DXpedition from the "Radio Club Amateur Radio Union of Sahrawi" (URS) is to help the Sahrawi operators develop their hobby on minimum technical conditions. Operators Naama/S01A, Man/S01AH and the URS/S01WS will operate on 60 meters, on 5366.5, 5371.5, 5380.5, 5398.5 and 5403.5 kHz USB. Naama and Man have a license to operate CW on this band on 5.368, 5.373, 5.382 and
5.405 kHz. It is suggested to watch the following for updates and news:https://twitter.com/SaharaDxTeamhttp://saharadx.jimdo.com

GM, Scotland (Islands Op). Alex, G0DHZ, informs OPDX that he will fly to Glasgow on May 3, and team up with Andre, GM3VLB, to spend three weeks activating Scottish Islands (their list consists of approx. 27 seperate islands). Alex states that there is so much to arrange, he feels they will not be able to access all of the 27. Operations will be on SSB and CW -- 14257 kHz is a regular spot for SSB, but band conditions rules, and CW will be around the + 20 kHz on a frequency where allowed. Islands mentioned are: Bass Rock, Incholm, Davaar, Pladda, Holy Is., Arran, Horse, Burnt, Gigalum, Gigha, Texa, Orsay, Danna, Iona, Kerrera, Lismore, Calve, Carna, Oronsay, Lady Isle, Staffa, and Little Colonsay. QSLs for GM3VLB is direct. GM0DHZ will be via eQSL, to GM0DHZ or direct to G0DHZ or by the Bureau.

May 1
Z3, Macedonia. The "60m News" reports that Macedonia has granted at lease 16 stations permission to start operating on 60 meters. The RSM (Radio Society of Macedonia) requested permission for a group of 16 dedicated radio amateurs with good experience, although the permission is given to RSM as an organization - not to individuals. The RSM is given discretion to modify the list so this list may be extended. The following are currently listed: Z31CZ, Z31MM, Z32ID, Z32M, Z33A, Z33F, Z34M, Z35B, Z35F, Z35G, Z35T, Z35W, Z36W, Z39A, Z39Z, and Z30A.

May 1-3
5Z, Kenya. Toru, JH0CJH, has once again returned to Nairobi, Kenya, and will be active as 5Z4/JH0CJH. Activity will be mainly 40-10 meters CW. QSL via his home call sign, direct or by the Bureau.

May 1-4
TK1, Corsica. An Italian group calling themselves "NOLOGO Independent DXers" will be on a "Springbreak Expedition" operating as TK1R from Corsica. Operators mentioned are Tony/IZ2ESV, Andrea/IZ2LSC, Ivano/I2RFJ, Bruno/IW3HXR, Claudio/IK3HAR and Alberto/IV3BSY. Activity will have an emphasis on the Digital modes and the 30/17/12m bands. The group also plans to be an entry in the ARI International DX Contest (May 3-4th). QSL via IK2DUW. Look for more details and updates on the QRZ.com page.

May 1-15
EA6, Baleric Islands. Francois, ON4LO, should be active as EA6/ON4LO/P from Mallorca Island (EU-005). Activity will be on 40-10 meters using SSB. He also plans to activate different lighthouses on the island. QSL via his home callsign, by the Bureau or direct.

May 1-15
HI, Dominican Republic (NA-096). Juergen, DL4SDW, will be active as homecall/HI3 from the Villa Gonzales. His activity on the HF bands will be mostly CW using 100 watts into wire antennas. QSL via his home callsign, by the Bureau (preferred) or direct.

May 1-30
8J, Japan (Special Event). The QRP day special event station 8J2VLP (It stands for "very low power.") will be active with five watts between May 1-June 30th. The QSLs will be sent automatically via the JARL Bureau. Three other stations, 8J4VLP, 8J6VLP, and 8J9VLP will also be on the air.

May 10-31
HI, Dominican Republic. Ronny, OT4R, will be active as HI7/OT4R from Punta Cana. Activity will be on 20 and 10 meters SSB. QSL via LoTW or eQSL only. No paper QSL cards.

May 14-17
V6, Micronesia. Shu, JA1FMN, will be active as V63PSK from Weno Island (in the Chuuk State; also known as Moen Island; IOTA OC-011). Activity will be holiday style on 20-10 meters using PSK
and JT65A. QSL via JA1FMN, by the Bureau, direct or eQSL.

May 16-18
A2, Botswana. Gerard (Gert), ZS6AYU, will once again be active as A25GF. Activity will be holiday style on 40-10 meters using CW only. He will also try 6 meters. Gert will use a AVQ640 vertical running 400 watts. QSL via ZS6AYU, direct or by the Bureau.

May 16-19
T8, Palau (update). Operators Fujio/JA1SVP and Takeo/JR1GSE will be active as T88FA and T88TH, respectively, from VIP Guest Hotel (Free Radio Room) on Koror Island (OC-009). Activity will be on 160-6 meters, including 30/17/12m, using CW, SSB and RTTY. T88TH (JR1GSE) will operate mainly SSB and some CW. While T88FA (JA1SVP) will operate mainly CW and RTTY. Main rig is an IC-756 with a TL-933 (possibly other rigs). Antennas are a 160m sloper, 80/75/40/30m Inverted-V and 20-6m Yagi. QSL T88FA via JA1SVP, and T88TH via JR1GSE. Both either direct or by the Bureau. For more details about the VIP Guest Hotel (Free Radio Room), see: http://www.palau-radio.com/index.php?page=rr2014

May 17
Kansas Armed Forces Day, 1400-2000 UTC, WX0EK, Elk Falls, KS. Elk County, KS The Amateur Radio Society. 14.250. QSL. Elk County, KS Amateur Radio Society, PO Box 70, Elk Falls, KS 67345. We will be celebrating Armed Forces Day with multiple stations operating from different location within the state. We will be operating on 80m,40m, 20m,15m. www.facebook.com/ElkCountyKsAmateurRadioSocietyWx0ek?ref=hl

May 20-28
T8, Palau. Operators Kenji/JH1BGH and 7K1HLJ will be active as T88WI and T88WH, respectively, from VIP Guest Hotel (Free Radio Room) on Koror Island (OC-009). Specific bands and modes were not provided (probably the same as the above operation). QSL T88WI via JH1BGH and T88WH via 7K1HLJ.

May 22-31
E5, South Cook Islands. Four members of the Yamato Amateur Radio Club will be active from Rarotonga, South Cook Islands, with their own individual callsigns. Operators mentioned are Kuni/JA8VE (E51AVE), Sasi/JA1KJW (E51KJW), Mat/JA1JQY (JA1JQY) and Kaoru/JA3MCA (E51MCA). Activity will be on all HF bands from 160-10 meters using CW, SSB and RTTY. QSL via each operator's home call sign, SASE or by the Bureau.

May 28-June 3
A3, Tonga. Masa, JA0RQV, will once again be active from Tonga. This time he will activate Niuatoputapu Island (OC-191) at the very small northern end of Tongan territory, and will signing as A35JP/P. Operations will be on 80-6 meters using CW and SSB. His equipment is an IC-7000 (w/100W) into a vertical antenna. Activity will be limited and much is depending on the availability of electric power since there is no commercial electric power at all. He must find a generator or car battery. In case his flight is cancelled, Masa will be active from Vava'u Island (OC-064) or Tongatapu Island (OC-049) instead. QSL via his home callsign, by the Bureau, direct (SASE w/1 IRC) or LoTW. For more details and updates, visit his Blog page at: http://blog.goo.ne.jp/rqv

QSL Card from Desecheo Island

IOTA / Islands on the Air

May 1-10
AS-143. Paracel Islands. A group of Chinese hams will be active from the rare Yongxing Island, Paracel Islands. The actual operation period depends on the schedule of the ship. Only one radio is allowed to be on the air 24 hours around the clock due to the limit of operators by the local authority. The assigned callsign will be B7CRA. Operators mentioned are Terry/BA7NQ, Che/BA7CK, De/BA7JA, Dick/BD7YC, in/BI7IOB and Vange/BA7IO. Equipment listed: 2xICOM 756PRO3 with 2x1KFA, 2xSB and 1 GP. QSL via BA4EG.

May 1-31
Norh/South American & Grey Nomad DX Vacation. To celebrate 31 years of DXing, Mal, VK6LC, will start a Northern American tour for 34 days through the W6, W7, W9 and W4 areas. signing area/VK6LC on an Amtrak Railway on 146.520 MHz FM. He will then join up with Pedro, HK3JJH, in what they are calling a "Grey Nomad DX Vacation" to celebrate their 20 year reunion of DXing for the month of June. Mal will be in South America for 42 days. These two well known retired Island DXpeditioners will then travel and activate the Amazon as HK9 and the San Andres, HK0.
Mal's tentative schedule is as follows:
June 5-9 - HK9/VK6LC, the Amazon Jungle, Colombia.
June 13-17 - HK0/VK6LC, San Andres, Colombia.
June 18-24 - HK3/VK6LC, Bogota, Colombia.
June 26-29 and July 9-12 - CE3/VK6LC, Santiago, Chile.
July 1-7 - PT7/VK6LC, Fortaleza, Brazil.

May 3-10
EU-032. Didier, F4ELJ, will be active as F4ELJ/P from Oleron Island (DIFM AT-025). Activity will be on the HF bands. QSL via his home call sign, direct, by the Bureau or LoTW.

May 6-11
NH0, Mariana Islands. Operators Yutaka/JQ2GYU/WS2Y and his wife Miho/ JJ2VLY/WS2M will be active as NH0J from Tinian Island (OC-086), Northern Mariana Islands, the special commemorative Tinian station of the "J-Tinian Radio Space Club. Activity will be on 80-10 meters including the 30/17/12 meter bands, using CW, SSB and RTTY. Miho will focus on RTTY. QSL via JJ2VLY, direct (SAE + 2 USDs) or by the JARL Bureau. Please don't send your QSL request to Tinian Island. For more details and broadcast updates, see: http://jq2gyu.blogspot.jp

May 10-20
OC-122/ Tambelan Islands. A team of four to five operators led by John/YB5NOF and Anton/ OC-109. YB5QZ are planning to activate Tambelan Islands as YE5T starting around May 10 for ten days. Some of the team may also activate Natuna Selatan Islands (OC-109) during this time. QSL via W2FB, direct or by the Bureau.

May 21-28
PJ4, Bonaire. Operators Redd/AI2N, Ken/N2ZN and Dave/WJ2O will be active as PJ4J from Bonaire (SA-006) between May 21-28th. Activity will include the CQWW WPX CW Contest (May 24-25th) as a Multi-Op/One-TX/All-Band entry.

May 24-25
P4, Aruba. John, W2GD, will be active as P44W from Aruba (SA-036) during the CQWW WPX CW Contest, as a Single-Op/All-Band/Low-Power entry. He will be there between May 22-28. Operations outside of the contest are usually on 160/80m and 30/17/12 meters as time permits. Watch 160m on the hour and 80m on the half hour. QSL via LoTW or direct to N2MM, Bureau cards are no longer accepted as of 12/31/2013. Logs will be loaded on LoTW upon his return to the USA.
(ARRL/OPDX 1158, 1159, 1160)